Victory gets ignition

AFTER racing at Pikes Peak with Project 156, Victory Motorcycles recognised that any production bike based on the prototype V-Twin engine would need to be something special, really special.

With that in mind, they went on a search for a custom bike builder who would take on that challenge. What, or who, they found was legendary Swiss based multi-time drag racing champion Urs Erbacher.

Known for his clean, powerful and dynamic customs, Erbacher infuses all of his custom bikes with a European style that has global appeal, and with free reign to build, he has created the lean and muscular Victory Ignition concept – revealed today (November 19) as the future of Victory Motorcycles’ production machines.

Erbacher is synonymous with custom bike building and drag racing throughout Europe. The 54-year-old has been customizing motorcycles to make them faster and better looking since he was 12 years old. He is the founder of Fat Attack Custom Bikes, a renowned name on the biker scene.

As for the bike, the new V-Twin engine is at the heart of the bike. The new engine – the RST pre-production powerplant – is born out of the one-off racing powerplant used in Project 156, which entered the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. And it’s no secret that this new engine will power a new model to be released in 2016.

It features the same crankcase, v-angle, rotating bottom-end, transmission and clutch set-up as the Project 156 motor. The liquid-cooled four-valve engine has double overhead cams with the aim of making class-leading power. Teamed with a set of handmade twin headers that snake out from the cylinders into a single pipe and through to a custom muffler, the bike looks and sounds right.

The front and rear suspension are adjustable. Marzocchi forks stand proud at the front with A-hlins suspension on the rear.